Universal Music Group has said it will join a livestreaming platform set up by K-pop's major record labels. As the world's biggest music label - represents superstars such as Taylor Swift, Rihanna and Lady Gag, it said it would invest in the platform launched last year by Big Hit Entertainment, the company behind K-pop superstars BTS. YG, the record label representing Blackpink, is also investing in the platform - called VenewLive.
Big Hit set up VenewLive as part of a joint venture called KBYK Live. Following the investment, a statement by the record labels said VenewLive now has with ambitions on a global scale.
South Korean - K-pop - music has grown massively in popularity on a global scale. Last year BTS became the first K-pop band to have a number one on the US Billboard charts. And all-girl group Blackpink, whose lavish videos regularly attract millions of viewers, set a new record last year for the biggest music video premiere on YouTube.
A total of 1.65 million fans tuned in for the unveiling of their new song How You Like That, breaking a record set by BTS in February. Big Hit said a BTS concert it streamed on VenewLive last year was viewed by 993,000 people worldwide.
Universal Music Group executive vice president Boyd Muir said: "This past year has shown that the need for reliable and innovative live-streaming has never been greater." Big Hit Entertainment was founded in 2005 by South Korea music producer Bang Si-Hyuk. In October, the company listed its shares on the Korean stock exchange.
It left the company with a market value of more than $8bn (£6bn).
